Cockrell leaving parks foundation

By Josh Baugh :
December 3, 2012
: Updated: December 4, 2012 1:15pm

Former Mayor Lila Cockrell blows out a candle during her 90th birthday reception held on Jan. 19, 2012 at the Tobin Estate.

Photo By EDWARD A. ORNELAS/Edward A. Ornelas/Express-News

Former Mayor Lila Cockrell (left) hugs J. Bruce Buggs, Jr., Chairman and Trustee The Tobin Endowment, during her 90th birthday reception held on Jan. 19, 2012 at the Tobin Estate.

Photo By EDWARD A. ORNELAS/Edward A. Ornelas/Express-News

Former Mayor Lila Cockrell speaks during her 90th birthday reception held on Jan. 19, 2012 at the Tobin Estate.

Photo By EDWARD A. ORNELAS/Edward A. Ornelas/Express-News

Former Mayor Lila Cockrell listens to speakers during her 90th birthday reception held on Jan. 19, 2012 at the Tobin Estate.

Photo By San Antonio Express-News/Edward A. Ornelas

Former Mayor Lila Cockrell listens to speakers during her 90th birthday reception held on Jan. 19, 2012 at the Tobin Estate.

Photo By J. MICHAEL SHORT/SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS-NEWS

Arthur and Norma Rodriguez with event chairperson Jane Macon get together to celebrate at Mayor Emeritus Lila Cockrell's 90th Birthday Celebration, Thursday, January 19, 2012 at The Tobin Estate in San Antonio.

Photo By J. MICHAEL SHORT/SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS-NEWS

Jennifer and Roger Flores with event chairperson Evangelina Flores on hand to celebrate at Mayor Emeritus Lila Cockrell's 90th Birthday Celebration, Thursday, January 19, 2012 at The Tobin Estate in San Antonio.

The 90-year-old former mayor and longtime civic leader said Monday she plans to retire from her full-time job as president of the San Antonio Parks Foundation at the end of the year — and literally not a moment sooner.

Her final farewell will come under New Year's Eve fireworks as she oversees Celebrate San Antonio, a free downtown event that draws an estimated 250,000 people each year.

She's not retiring from the position she's held since 1998 because age has gotten the best of her. Cockrell says she has tried but just can't seem to find the time to finish a memoir.

“I am in the process of writing a book about the life I've had, and the many interesting things that occurred during my opportunity to serve as a councilwoman and mayor during 17 years in public office,” she said.

“I've written, of course, about the beginning of my life up to 1968, and that's where I've got a long ways still to go — but I got up to HemisFair and then I realized that it's very hard to finish when I'm working all day and going out to public events on so many evenings during the week.”

Cockrell is not leaving public life. She played a key role in a campaign earlier this year for the city's 2012 bond program. She appeared at press conferences and other campaign events, often drawing remarks that she's as spry as ever.

First joining the City Council in 1963, Cockrell started her political career in a bygone era when council members were elected at-large and then picked a mayor from among themselves. City records list her as “Mrs. S.E. Cockrell, Jr.” during her first term in office.

She served three more two-year terms and then didn't run in 1971. Two years later, she rejoined the council and then in 1975 became the first woman mayor of a major U.S. city, a position she held for three terms on her first go-round.

After Henry Cisneros succeeded her and served four terms, Cockrell came back for one last term as mayor before leaving politics.

She segued into civic life and continued to advocate for improvements in San Antonio.

County Judge Nelson Wolff, who was elected mayor after Cockrell's last term, said her tenure at City Hall gave her the ability to be an effective leader from beyond the dais.

“There are some people who do a better job for their communities than they even do when they're elected, and she might be put in that category,” Wolff said. “She's been so effective as a community leader in persuading the City Council or us (county commissioners) to do a number of things.”

Former Mayor Phil Hardberger called Cockrell “an excellent citizen of San Antonio, and one that we could all learn from and emulate.”

“To have someone of that high of a position to be working on our green spaces and making people's lives more beautiful is a major contribution,” he said.

The role parks play in a city can't be overstated, he said. As local leaders continue to encourage companies to relocate here, parks help sell San Antonio. Executives want to bring their families and employees to “a beautiful city,” Hardberger said.

“She's a person who, because of her longstanding position in the community, people want to know what she thinks,” he said. “And that's been invaluable in the many years I've been involved in city activities.”

Cockrell and Peak, an executive at AT&T, both declined to identify the incoming foundation president, saying an announcement likely would be made in early January.

Sources said Monday that Peak will take over her role. He declined to comment.

One of Peak's mayoral legacies is the city's linear park system, which recently was named after him. He long has been a major advocate for green space.

“I think Howard is an actual heir to the throne here. He, too, has continued to give,” Hardberger said. “They're like the Energizer bunnies.”